CHERA DYNASTYCera dynastyCera also spelled Chera, also called Keralaputrarulers of an ancient kingdom in what is now Kerala state, southwestern India. Cera was one of the three major chiefdoms of Tamilakam, kingdoms of southern India that constituted Tamilkam (territory of the Tamils) and was centred on the Malabar coast Coast and the its hinterland. The other two dynasties were the Pandyas(Madurai) , based at present-day Madurai, south-central Tamil Nadu state, and the Cholas(, centred around modern Thanjavur and the Kaveri (Cauvery) River valley in eastern Tamil Nadu.

In the early centuries bce, the Cera region became known to the Greeks and Romans (who were called Yavana in early Indian literature) for its spices.

Chera

Cera inscriptions of the

second century AD referring

2nd century ce that make reference to the Irrumporai clan have been found near

Karur (Tiruchirappalli district). Sangam

present-day Tiruchirappalli (on the Kaveri west of Thanjavur). Shangam (early Tamil) literature mentions the names of

Chera

Cera chiefs dated to the

first

1st century

AD

ce. Among them, Nedunjeral Adan is said to have attacked

the

Yavana ships and held

the

Yavana traders

to

ransom. His son Senguttuvan, much eulogized in

the

Shangam poems, is also mentioned in the context of Gajabahu’s rule (2nd century ce) in Sri Lanka.